


Art is theft

by likelikeLove



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Art Thief AU, Chanyeol's Birthday Week 2020, Crime, M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likelikeLove/pseuds/likelikeLove
Summary: Chanyeol knows a great work of art when he sees it...or rather when he steals it.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 33
Kudos: 58
Collections: Challenge #11 — The Suspect... is You!





	Art is theft

The Auction room was packed with people awaiting the sale of a much-anticipated artwork. Chanyeol leant against the wall silently observing the crowd. He wasn’t there to bid, he was there purely to watch and listen. Two well-dressed ladies nearby were having a hushed conversation. 

“Did you hear Count Byun has gotten his hands on Van Gogh’s The Starry Night?”

“I thought it was missing,” gasped the second. 

“So did I, but apparently not so missing that a Count rolling in money couldn’t buy it.”

“I wonder how much he paid for it..."

“Thinking of making him an offer?”

“Of course not,” she chided, but she craned her neck looking around. 

“Over there,” said the other slyly, pointing out a handsome young man impeccably dressed and lounging in his chair with an air of regal boredom.

Chanyeol watched him for a few minutes before leaving the room unobtrusively, his trip to the auction house had been more valuable than he’d expected.

One week later after a gilded invitation begging the Count’s attendance at a fabulously exclusive but entirely fictitious event had been delivered, Chanyeol dropped lightly from the high perimeter wall onto the Count’s first-floor balcony. The house was quiet and dark as he’d expected. The lock was no obstacle and Chanyeol was slipping silently through the shadowy corridors in a matter of minutes. 

His own investigations had confirmed that the opulent house had its own gallery room and this was where he headed. 

Once inside, he shone his torch around the walls, hovering momentarily over each painting. The artworks would usually have interested him, there was no denying that the Count had extraordinary taste, but none was the painting he sought. He was just considering his next move when he heard a creak of floorboards, he clicked off his torch. There was no further noise but in the darkness, he was surprised to see a slither of light where the wall met the floor in an alcove housing an exquisite Grecian sculpture. He ran his fingers over the cool marble and found a small indent in the base. He pressed down and with a smile of triumph watched the statue slide aside on silent mechanisms revealing a lit room within. 

The walls were covered in photos of artworks, zoomed in on minute details. On an easel stood Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, almost complete. The Count was clearly absorbed in his work. The floorboard creaked as Chanyeol stepped towards him and he wheeled around panicked and seeming momentarily dumbstruck.

“Oh don’t let me interrupt. Go ahead and finish,” said Chanyeol, gesturing to the paintbrush in the Count’s hand as he stepped further into the room, blocking the doorway. 

“It's not what you think!” the Count exclaimed. 

“I think you're forging a Van Gogh,” said Chanyeol dryly. 

“Oh, then it's exactly what you think,” replied the Count a little crestfallen. “But I'm doing it to raise money for a really worthwhile cause.”

“Which is?”

“Me! I need money,” he burst out. 

“You're a Count.”

“Oh I bought that title on the internet," said the Count dismissively. "My name’s Baekhyun. I'm the son of a mechanic for god’s sake and I'm broke."

“You live in a mansion full of artwork!”

“Why do you think I’m broke?! Oh, why am I justifying myself to you anyway? You clearly came here to steal my—”

“Fake painting?" interrupted Chanyeol archly.

"Yes, but it's still breaking and entering."

"Ok. Go ahead and call the police then."

Baekhyun pulled his phone out then stared from it to Chanyeol and back again before putting it down ruefully. 

“I didn't think so,” said Chanyeol. "Quite a clever ruse, I see. What’s the plan? You spread gossip that you’ve got a missing Van Gogh while you sit back and wait for the offers to roll in and when they do you oh so reluctantly sell them this fake painting?”

“Something like that,” admitted Baekhyun. “The real one’s missing and whoever has it obviously got it by dubious means, so they’re unlikely to speak up.”

Chanyeol leant in and examined the painting. 

“A beautiful fake,” he said admiringly, as he glanced back at its painter.

"I can't tell if you're talking about the painting...or me," said Baekhyun, raising an eyebrow. 

Smiling, Chanyeol ignored the comment. 

In truth, he found Baekhyun disarmingly attractive even in his paint-covered clothes, but he never told the truth if he could help it.

"I found a flaw in your plan. The painting's buyer might get it valued or try and insure it and then your little charity drive is over…unless,” he stretched the word out temptingly letting it dangle like a life preserver.

“I'm listening,” replied Baekhyun.

“You let me “steal" it. One of my buyers will snap it up and never know the difference. No one would be fool enough to get black market stolen artwork valued, right?"

Baekhyun gave him the calculating stare of a practised conman. “What’s in it for me?”

“50% of the profit and I don’t tell anyone about the internet.”

“I think people already know about the internet."

"You know what I mean," replied Chanyeol. "I won't tell anyone about your little…“artistic pursuits” either," he added delicately.

"I'd also appreciate you not mentioning that I'm broke," said Baekhyun hurriedly.

"And I'd appreciate you not mentioning I'm a thief."

He watched Baekhyun whose face remained carefully neutral though he was clearly considering his options. Suddenly he held out a graceful slender-fingered hand and Chanyeol took it.

“I think this could be the start of a beautiful partnership,” Baekhyun said, giving Chanyeol a radiant smile as they shook hands. 

Chanyeol’s wrist felt suddenly lighter, he smiled in amusement and asked, “Did you just steal my watch?” 

“Yes. You broke into my house, I'm getting even.”

Chanyeol's smile broadened. "You might be useful to me in more ways than one.”

He was still smiling when he read the newspaper headline the next day. 

**Priceless artwork stolen from Count**

**Author's Note:**

> Chanyeol's buyer is definitely Suho! 🤭


End file.
